As Scotland votes on independence (defeated), in a campaign led by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and a coterie of advisors, few can claim more influence than Muslim member of the Scottish Parliament Humza Yousaf.

Breitbart (h/t Hanna) Yousaf was recently described by the BBC’s Andrew Neil as “the power behind Alex Salmond”. But how much do we know about the 29-year-old chalked up to be an independent Scotland’s Foreign Secretary and perhaps even Prime Minister.

But Yousaf was willing to go further than his contemporaries to get what he wanted. The Guardian reports he joined a human blockade of the Charing Cross exit of the M8 motorway. In 2012 he described his experiences: “We had our two hours, freezing our arses off. And that was it: I was hooked.”

Initially he was attracted to the Scottish National Party’s opposition to the War on Terror, but he also became interested in its socialist views. Like many in the party he sees leaving the United Kingdom as a good way to push a much more left-wing pro-Islam agenda in Scotland.

Prior to his election to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, Yousaf had been a media spokesman for Islamic Relief (see below), a charity that has been accused on a number of occasions of being a front group for radical Islamism. Yousaf was a volunteer for Islamic Relief since the age of 10.

Yousaf was also heavily involved in a community radio station for over a decade and helped organise food parcels for asylum seekers. After just one year in the Scottish Parliament, he was appointed Minister for External Affairs and International Development, equivalent to Foreign Secretary. This senior role is bound to make him a genuine contender for Prime Minister once Alex Salmond steps out of the way. This would make him the first Muslim head of government in Europe since the Crusades.

But his rise to the top has not been without its hiccups. He was also embroiled in a financial scandal after his cousin Osama Saeed – a former Muslim Brotherhood spokesman – was awarded £400,000 for a Muslim festival entitled “IslamExpo”. Furthermore, the Scottish Herald reported on what became known as a “lunchgate” scandal, where Saeed and Yousaf collaborated to fundraise on the back of cash for access. “The auctioneer was Humza Yousaf, who works for both Salmond and Sturgeon at Holyrood. “Yousaf’s patter was wasn’t subtle. The link between cash, parliament and the ministers’ time was explicit.”

It is unclear what Saeed’s group, the Scottish Islamic Foundation, is doing now but in the past it has been accused of having extremist links. When they met with the British government they took Mohammed Sawalha – the subject of a BBC Panorama expose into Islamist terrorist group Hamas – with them. “The two men travelled to Sawalha’s home. His visitor’s name was Mohammed Salah. Salah’s mission was to distribute funds. Sawalha told him who to meet in the Palestinian territories…. With Sawalha’s agreement Salah began distributing about a quarter of a million dollars to local Hamas operatives. “

Yousaf is happily married to Gail Lythgoe, a red-headed Muslim convert. He recently called for Scotland to take in Palestinian refugees, and urged a full arms embargo of the State of Israel.

Islamic Relief Worldwide, a British charity accused of links to terrorism, was presented with £398,000 of the taxpayers’ money by the Scottish Government last year, as part of its £9 million International Development Fund.

The funding was announced by Scottish politician Humza Yousaf, formerly the Media spokesperson for Islamic Relief Worldwide, and currently a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament and Minister for External Affairs and International Development. This grant comes in addition to the European Union’s grant of €22 million provided to Islamic Relief Worldwide between 2007 and 2011.

In November 2012, the Swiss Bank UBS closed the account of, and blocked all donations to, Islamic Relief due to “counter-terror concerns.”

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A considerable number of Islamic Relief officials are also connected to extremist groups:

Ibrahim El-Zayat, a trustee of Islamic Relief, is a leader in both the European and the German Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist Islamist organization with branches all around the world.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi, the former head of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), was also previously a director of Islamic Relief. FIOE is a leading advocate of jihadist Egyptian scholar, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

Issam Al-Bashir, a former Director of Islamic Relief, is the former Minister of Religious Affairs in the Sudan and has held many positions associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood.

Dr. Hani Al-Banna, the co-founder of Islamic Relief Worldwide, was formerly affiliated with Muslim Aid, a London-based Islamic “charity” which was previously a “partner organization” of the Al-Salah Islamic Association. The US Government has officially designated Al Salah a terrorist entity.

Map of active separatist movements in Europe. Red names indicate regions with movements that only claim greater autonomy within the actual state. Black names indicate regions with important secessionist movements, although both categories include moderate movements. The nations highlighted in colors are the territories claimed by the local nationalist groups, including areas out of the state’s borders and cases of annexation to other states (click to enlarge).

This is a list of currently active separatist movements in Europe. Separatism often refers to full political secession,though separatist movements may seek nothing more than greater autonomy.

What is and is not considered an autonomist or secessionist movement is sometimes contentious. Entries on this list must meet three criteria:

An association of people:Kaszëbskô Jednota who want to actively participate in the life of the Kashubian nation and who recognize its right to cultural autonomy and self-identity within the multi-ethnic society.

Russia’s North Caucasus

Militant organisation:Chechen separatists; though recently Ramzan Kadyrov, the Russian-appointed leader of the Chechen Republic within Russia has also made statements seeming to support broad autonomy,[43] criticising Russian attempts to make a “North Caucasus” district[43] and inviting back separatist leader Akhmad Zakayev.[44]

Goals: Firstmost, the establishment of autonomy for the Karachay and Balkaria, rather than in biethnic republics where they must share power with Russians and Circassians (division of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia into smaller units, also popular for Circassian nationalists). Then, the unification of Karachay and Balkar units is advocated by some but not all nationalists (see Balkar and Karachai nationalism)

Proposed state: Karachay-Balkar Republic (includes south Kabardino-Balkaria and south Karachey-Cherkessia)